Unjustified complaints; writing general complaints the language of complaints, explaining the problem, suggesting a solution; replying to letters of complaint getting time to investigate
Trang 1Unjustified complaints; writing general complaints (the language of complaints, explaining the problem, suggesting a solution); replying to letters of complaint (getting time to investigate, explaining the mistake, solving the problem, rejecting a complaint); accounting errors and adjustments
(debit notes, credit notes).
Trang 2 If you complain, make sure you get your facts right
If you answer, be polite and restrained.
Unjustified complaints
Dear Sir,
I strongly object to the extra charge of £9.00 which you have added to my statement When I sent my cheque for £56.00 last week, I thought it cleared this balance Now I find…
Dear Mr Axeby,
We received your letter today complaining of an extra charge of £9.00 on your May statement I think if you check the statement you will find that the amount due was £65.00 not £56.00 which accounts for the £9.00 difference
I have enclosed a copy of the statement and …
Trang 3 Opening
The language of complaints
Explaining the problem
Suggesting a solution
Writing general complaints
Trang 4 Do not delay
Do not apologize
We would like to inform you …
I am writing to complain about …
I am writing with reference to Order No P32 which we received yesterday.
Opening
Trang 5 Do not be rude or personal
Unless you can fulfill our orders efficiently in the future we will have to consider other sources of supply.
Use the passive and impersonal structures
There seems to be some misunderstanding regarding terms
of discount Discount is deducted from net prices, not c.i.f prices.
Never blame your staff
Remember that your supplier wants to help and
correct the mistake
Language of complaints
Trang 6 If you know how the mistake was made → politely
point it out to the supplier.
Could you tell your dispatch department to take special care when addressing my consignment? My name is C.J.Schwartz, Bergstr 110 Kȯln who also deals in electrical fittings.
Could you ask your accounts department to check my code
carefully in future? My account number is 246-642, and they have been sending me statements coded 642-246.
I think the reason that wrong sizes have been sent to me is
because I am ordering in metric sizes, and you are sending me sizes measured in feet and inches I would appreciate your
looking into this.
Explaining the problem
Trang 7 The best solution would be for me to return the wrong articles
to you, postage and packing forward rather than send a credit note, you could send six replacements which would probably
be easier than adjusting our accounts.
Suggesting a solution
Trang 8 Opening
Getting time to investigate the complaint
Explaining the mistake
Solving the problem
Rejecting a complaint
Closing
Reply to complaint letters
Trang 9 Acknowledge the complaint, and thank customer for informing
Thank you for your letter of 6 August informing us that …
We would like to thank you for informing us of our accounting error in your letter of 7 June.
We are relying to your letter of 10 March in which you told us that …
Opening
Trang 10 If the matter takes time to look into, do not leave
customer waiting, tell what you are doing immediately.
While we cannot give you an explanation at present, we can promise you that we are looking into the matter and will write
to you again shortly.
As we are sending out orders promptly, I think these delays may have something to do with the haulage contractors and I
am making investigations at the moment.
Would you please return samples of the items you are
dissatisfied with, and I will send them to our factory in
Düsseldorf for tests.
Get time to investigate
the complaint
Trang 11 With justified complaint, explain how the mistake occurred, do not blame your staff.
The mistake was due to a fault in one of our machines,
which has now been corrected.
There appears to have been some confusion in our
addressing system but this has been adjusted.
It is unusual for this type of error to arise but the problem has now been dealt with.
Explaining the mistake
Trang 12being corrected at the moment and we are sure you will be
completely satisfied with the replacement units we will be sending you in the next few weeks.
The paintwork on the body of the cars became discoloured because
of a chemical imbalance in the paint used in spraying the vehicles
We have already contacted our own suppliers and are waiting for their reply Meanwhile we are taking these models out of
production and calling in all those that have been supplied.
Solving the problem
Trang 13 With unjustified complaint → firm but polite answer and try to give explanation of problem.
We have closely compared the articles you returned with our
samples and can see no difference between them, and in this case
we are not willing to either substitute the articles or offer a credit.
Our engineer has examined the machine you complained about and
in his report tells us that the machine has not been maintained
properly If you look at the instruction booklet on maintenance that
we sent you, you will see that it is essential to take care of ……
Our factory has now inspected the stereo unit you returned last week, and they inform us that it has been used with the wrong
speakers and this had overloaded the circuits We can repair the
machine, but you will have to pay for the repairs as misuse of the unit is not included under our guarantee
Rejecting a complaint
Trang 14 Mention the mistake is exception
Apologize for inconvenience for customer.
In closing we would like to apologize for the inconvenience, and also point out that this type of fault rarely occurs in the Omega 2000.
Finally, may we say that this was an exceptional mistake and
is unlikely to occur again Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience.
The replacements of the faulty articles are on their way to you and you should receive them within the week We are sure that you will be satisfied with them and there will be no repetition
of the faults Thank you for your patience in this matter, and
we look forward to hearing from you again.
Closing
Trang 15 Complaint of wrong delivery
Specimen letters
Trang 16 Reply to complaint of wrong delivery
Specimen letters
Trang 17 Complaint of damage
Sample letters
Trang 19 Complaint of
bad workmanship
Specimen letters
Trang 21 Complaint of
non-delivery
Specimen letters
Trang 23 Debit notes
Credit notes
Accounting errors and adjustments
Trang 24 A second charge for a good
Needed when customer has been undercharged by a
calculations mistake on the original invoice
Should be accompanied by a letter of apology
We would like to apologize for the mistake on invoice No C293, which was due to an oversight Please could you send us the balance of
£10.00? Thank you.
I am sorry to trouble you, particularly since you were so prompt in settling the account, but I would be grateful if you would let us have the additional amount of £140 as itemized on the enclosed debit note.
I regret that we miscalculated the VAT and must now ask you to
forward the difference of £51.86.
Debit notes
Trang 25 Sent in case of accidental overcharges:
When a deposit is being refunded or when goods are
returned because they were not suitable or had been
damaged.
Sent with covering letter of explanation and apology.
I have pleasure in enclosing a credit note for £5.00 This is due to
a miscalculation on our invoice dated 12 August Please accept our apologies for the mistake.
Please find enclosed our credit note No C23 for £5.60 which is a refund for the overcharge on invoice No L283 As you pointed out
in your letter, the trace discount should have been 12%, not 10%,
of the gross price We apologize for the inconvenience.
Credit notes
Trang 26 Debit note
Specimen forms &letters
Trang 27 Credit note
Specimen forms &letters
Trang 30 Therefore, write calmly, clearly presenting all the relevant information
and making any suggestions that might help put the matter right.
Never make the complaint personal Use an impersonal tone.
When answering a complaint, apologize for the mistake, thank the writer for pointing it out to you, explain how it occurred and how you intend to deal with it.
If you need more time to investigate the complaint, tell you customer so.
If the complaint is unjustified, politely explain why, but sympathize about the inconvenience it has caused.
Remember that, whether your customer’s complaint is right or wrong,
he/she is your customer and his/her comments about you to other people
in your trade or profession can either improve or damage your reputation.
Points to remember